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Is Perfectionism Killing Your Creativity? And How You Can Revive it

There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem

Perfectionism kills. Why?

Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval. It says you’re what you do and how well you do it.

Perfectionism is other-focused: What will they think? It’s a hustle. It’s exhausting because hustling is exhausting. It’s a never-ending performance. It says please do perfectly.

Perfectionism is not the key to success. In fact, research shows that perfectionism hampers achievement. Perfectionism is correlated with depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis or missed opportunities.

One Easy-to-Use Creativity Technique Every Time You Create

The fear of failing, making mistakes, not meeting people’s expectations, and being criticized keeps us outside of the arena where healthy competition and striving unfolds.